History · Year 12

Active learning ideas

Poverty and the Poor Laws (Early Responses)

Active learning works for this topic because students need to confront the harsh realities of poverty and policy directly. Working with primary sources and simulations helps them grasp how government responses shaped lives, rather than just memorizing dates or laws.

• National Curriculum Attainment Targets
• A-Level: History - Elizabeth I: Social and Economic Problems
• A-Level: History - The Tudors: England, 1485–1603

• 25–50 min
• Pairs → Whole Class
• 3 activities

Activity 01

• Inquiry Circle
• 45 min · Small Groups

Inquiry Circle: The Poor Law Audit

In small groups, students analyze the clauses of the 1572, 1597, and 1601 Poor Laws. They must identify the 'shift' from 'punishment' to 'relief' and discuss why the government eventually realized that 'charity' was more effective than 'the whip' for maintaining order.

Explain why vagrancy became such a significant concern in Elizabethan England.

Facilitation Tip

During the Poor Law Audit, assign each group a specific clause from the 1601 Act to present back to the class for comparison.

What to look for

Pose the question: 'Was the Elizabethan approach to poverty primarily about social control or genuine charity?' Ask students to identify specific laws or policies discussed and explain how they support their argument, citing evidence for both 'social control' and 'charity' aspects.

• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Self-Management
• Self-Awareness

Activity 02

• Simulation Game
• 50 min · Small Groups

Simulation Game: The Parish Vestry Meeting

Students role-play a meeting of the 'Overseers of the Poor' in a local parish. They are given 'profiles' of various poor people (e.g., an injured soldier, a widow with children, a wandering beggar) and they must decide how to allocate the 'poor rate' and who to send to the 'house of correction'.

Analyze the early legislative responses to poverty before 1601.

Facilitation Tip

While simulating the Parish Vestry Meeting, give each student a character card with a hidden agenda to encourage authentic debate.

What to look for

Provide students with a short primary source excerpt (e.g., a description of a vagrant or a parish record of relief). Ask them to identify whether the individual described would likely be classified as 'deserving' or 'undeserving' and to list two pieces of evidence from the text that led them to this conclusion.

• Apply
• Analyze
• Evaluate
• Create
• Social Awareness
• Decision-Making

Activity 03

• Think-Pair-Share
• 25 min · Pairs

Think-Pair-Share: Why was poverty a 'threat'?

Students analyze contemporary quotes about 'masterless men'. They discuss in pairs why the Elizabethans were so terrified of 'vagrants' and how this fear shaped their social policy.

Compare the treatment of the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor.

Facilitation Tip

For the Think-Pair-Share on why poverty was a threat, provide a short list of primary quotes to ground student responses in historical language.

What to look for

On an index card, have students write one sentence explaining the main difference between the 'deserving' and 'undeserving' poor. Then, ask them to list one specific punishment or form of relief associated with each category.

• Understand
• Apply
• Analyze
• Self-Awareness
• Relationship Skills

A few notes on teaching this unit

Start by having students read excerpts from the 1601 Poor Law alongside short descriptions of punishments for vagrancy. This pairing helps them see the law as a dual instrument of relief and control. Avoid presenting the Poor Law as a purely progressive reform—use the punishments to frame it as a tool of social regulation, supported by research showing early modern governments prioritized order over welfare.

Students will demonstrate understanding by explaining the distinction between deserving and undeserving poor, analyzing the 1601 Poor Law’s structure, and justifying why poverty was framed as both a moral and social threat. They will support their views with evidence from the activities.

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Watch Out for These Misconceptions

• During the Poor Law Audit, students might assume the 1601 Poor Law was a 'kind' and 'generous' system.

  During the Poor Law Audit, redirect students to focus on the punishments section of the Act, such as whipping, branding, and execution for repeat offenders. Ask them to categorize these measures as charity or control based on the text of the law itself.

• During the Parish Vestry Meeting simulation, students may think poverty was a 'new' problem in the 1590s.

  During the Parish Vestry Meeting, provide students with a handout listing the four bad harvests and the war costs in the 1590s. Ask them to discuss how these pressures created a crisis within their character groups before the meeting begins.

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Methods used in this brief

• Inquiry Circle
• Simulation Game
• Think-Pair-Share